


A Warm Body

by michebird



Category: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 20:48:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18431810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/michebird/pseuds/michebird
Summary: “You do your Lord no good, running yourself into the ground. It’s nearly nighttime.”





	A Warm Body

"I realize that I said we could train whenever you’d like, but I believe now would be an appropriate time to stop.”  
Wolf kept a level gaze with his sparring partner, who had slipped out of a fighting stance. For the past half hour or so Hanbei had been forcing the two to a slower pace, making comments here and there about the lateness of the day, about Wolf’s form. His lidded eyes followed Wolf as he circled, the odd milkiness standing out more in the day’s dying light.

“You’ve been at this too long. Though I won’t tire, you will. Heh, you’re growing sloppy already.”  
Despite the reprimanding words, Hanbei’s tone was relaxed, seemingly uninterested. He wasn’t a man easily taken by emotion, Wolf had learned. The shinobi began to circle in the other direction, ankles crossing with less finesse than usual. He wondered often at Hanbei’s past, and how the curse had changed his temperament, if at all. If he had always been a calm man, or if his mind cleared during his time away, alone. 

“You do your Lord no good, running yourself into the ground. It’s nearly nighttime.”  
The undying man knew which wounds to prod. From anyone else, this comment would spark anger in Wolf. The lengths he went for the Young Lord - and the means by which he followed them - were deeply personal, and he had done far worse on his journey thus far than training his body slightly past what was comfortable. 

Wolf remained silent, knowing that Hanbei had become accustomed to his reticence. The two seemed to have an understanding, that Wolf could speak as little, or on occasion, as much as he would like as they fought. True, Hanbei could very well fill the silence on his own, to Wolf’s polite nods and thoughtful grunts, but the shinobi had found that he could speak freely with the man.

With obvious reluctance, Hanbei gave a quiet laugh and finally sunk back into stance. He leveled his blade once more, and at its glint, Wolf shot forward.

Sandals pattered quietly against grass. Wolf meant to come at Hanbei at an angle in case the other man went for a grab around his middle, but truly, he was tired, and his legs simply stumbled forward. When the two were close enough to make eye contact, Hanbei threw his sword to the side. Wolf startled with confusion, but couldn’t stop the momentum that sent him barreling into the other’s form. Hanbei gripped Wolf under the armpits and held him aloft for a moment, before tossing him over a shoulder. 

Wolf froze in the bizarre position, analyzing their points of contact and where Hanbei’s grip was weakest. His mind raced with possibilities - he could somersault over and swing low at Hanbei’s heels from behind, or he could attempt to spin around in the man’s loose grip and strike from there. Wolf’s train of thought ended on that grip, and on the gentle hands at his back. 

“...What is this?” Wolf asked quietly, voice straining from lack of use. Hanbei’s body rumbled with silent laughter beneath him. In the night chill, he was so much warmer than Wolf had noticed during their fights. Despite the unhealed cuts and mottled bruises on his skin, Hanbei was not truly a corpse. Wolf’s face was pressed against a point below Hanbei’s nape, and he found that even his scent was entirely human. Earthy, like the inevitable layer of grime and sweat one gained on their travels. Wolf marvelled at the comfort he took from this. He couldn’t say he took the same comfort in the bloody cloth about his shoulders, however. 

Wolf remained quiet as Hanbei walked them to the edge of the clearing, his body growing lax. The warmth and solidity lulled Wolf into thoughts of when he had last been held so completely by another person, and he found no memory. Though he knew he had reasonably been held by his father at one time, or perhaps comforted by his other shinobi teachers, the memory would have been so old and tainted now to have expired completely. Perhaps with his loss of memory, memory of touch had been taken as well. 

Hanbei set Wolf down, allowing a heartbeat to pass before laying his hands on his shoulders, connecting them once more. In the silence following, Wolf realized that he would have to be the one to speak. His eyes drifted slowly up to Hanbei’s eyes.

“...Thank you,” Wolf said simply, taking in the sameness of Hanbei’s face and mask, at odds with the sudden anxious energy pressed within his chest. It was a face he saw near every day - steady, easy. Familiar in all its strangeness. At Wolf’s words, Hanbei merely laughed and patted his shoulders before letting his hands drop away.

“We can train another day. Sleep, now.” 

Wolf hummed an assent, watching Hanbei melt back into the darkness of the clearing, beyond the limits of his night vision. Wolf didn’t know where he slept, if he did at all sleep. These thoughts muddled his mind, confusing the image of Hanbei’s retreating back. Like a finishing blow, Hanbei tossed over his shoulder, “good night, Little Wolf,” chuckling at the strangled sound that escaped Wolf’s throat.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a sucker for background characters in games. Currently at the last boss in sekiro and having trouble, so I figured I'd write down this idea I had instead!  
> also this is the first fanfic I've ever actually written so I hope the characters come across clearly? I think I made Hanbei a little too stern for what his dialogue is actually like, but my thought is that Wolf might need that in some of their more like, unguarded interactions? or something?


End file.
